Of all card games ever known, poker is most popular. A variety of poker, called “Texas Hold'em” is often enjoyed by groups of players who share some of the same cards to make up a hand. Texas Hold'em is played with a minimum of two players and usually up to a maximum of ten players. A standard 52-card deck is used, a deck with four suits, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades, each having thirteen cards, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. The deck is shuffled before each hand. Players enter an ante before receiving cards.
When play starts, each player receives two cards face down as “hole cards.” Five cards then are displayed face up and are used by all players. These are “community” cards. Players may combine any five of their two hole cards and five community cards to make the best five-card poker hand. Ranking of hands is conventional, with the highest hand a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace on-suit (the highest straight-flush) and the lowest potential winning hand comprising high cards (in the absence of a pair or better hand). Two or more players may tie, and each receive an equal share from the betting pot. All suits are equal in determining a winner. A flush of one suit against a flush of the same cards in another suit results in a tied hand. Variations of these rules exist and are contemplated, but too numerous to list here.
Generally, the player to the left of the dealer must bet ‘in the blind’ before any cards are dealt. In some games, two or more blinds are required and no blind bidding is used. After the blinds (if any) are posted, two hole cards are dealt ‘down’ (hidden), and only played as part of the recipient's hand. After this, each player clockwise from the blind bettor(s) may call the blind bet(s), raise or fold. Players that have bet ‘in the blind’ optionally can raise their blind bets on the first round of betting, with the farthest-clockwise-away blind bettor the last to bet in the initial betting round. If only one player remains (others folded) then the sole player is declared the winner and receives the pot.
After the first round of betting, the first three community cards are simultaneously displayed (the ‘flop’). Then each remaining player, starting with the first player to the left, may check, bet, call, raise, re-raise (re-raises may be limited to three in any round) or fold. The betting round ends when no more bets or raises can be made that have not been called or responded to by an all-in or fold.
A fourth community card (the “turn”) is then displayed and betting proceeds for the remaining ‘in’ players as described above. Finally, a fifth community card is displayed (the ‘river’), and betting proceeds for the remaining ‘in’ players. After the river betting round, the last bettor's hole cards are opened and ‘read’ to determine the strength of that hand when combined with the five community cards. The same reading of hands is done in clockwise order with respect to the hole cards of each remaining player. The winner(s) are declared and the pot distributed.
Minor regional variations to the game are known, which are not included in the above description. These are not critical to understanding the principal embodiments described but may be combined in some embodiments. For example, the house/casino often takes a ‘rake,’ to profit from the game. The rake may be implemented in a machine game version by skipping or discounting the ante or call(s) of a virtual player, or the house may simple take a percentage of each hand. A casino or poker site generally does not bet with players but charges players a fee for hosting/supervising the game.
Often, betting limits increase after the “turn” (described below) is dealt. At any time, to “call,” a player must enter the amount of the bet(s) made in that betting round prior to his turn. If a player bets his whole stack,—which is less than the bet(s) prior to or after his turn—another player's exposure to that player is equal only to the amount of that player's whole stack invested in the pot. As to such a player, known as “all in,” and the player(s) he competes with through the “river” (described below), players who later fold not being considered, the hand will always be fully dealt out, with a winner declared, using all community cards. After a player or players go “all in,” betting can continue by other players. When this happens, separate “side” pots can be created for the players who continue betting and calling one another. These side pots are won by the continuing players, and in these hands two or more players can be declared winners (even if the ‘all in’ player makes the best hand, the continuing player with the next highest hand will win the side pot).
New Versions of the Game
Versions of Texas Hold'em are known, such as that invented by Michael Baker and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,799, which is identical to regular Texas Hold'em except that opponents hands are folded facing up. This innovation allows a player to better predict the remaining cards and also see more of the strategy used by a player. The innovation of folding with showing the folded cards works well and is exciting.
Generally, “folding up,” as described and broadly claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,296,799 provides greater excitement. This technique adds more interest to the game. It was discovered however, that many human players do not like this version because they are shy about revealing their hole cards. Any technique that addresses this problem would benefit the game by creating more player interest.
Electronic implementation of Texas hold'em often compromises on betting by virtual players. See, for example, US No. 20090051113 by Ernest Moody. Presumably because of computer limitations, this version does not include independent betting by other, virtual players via a computer. Yet another problem is that an enjoyable game with 4 or more independent players has been difficult to achieve where one person plays the game on a single machine. Unfortunately, in many if not most games many players are not dealt what they consider to be playable hands. Accordingly, in many circumstances, three or fewer players play a hand beyond what is called the pre-flop stage (before any community cards are turned up). Thus, much of the Texas hold'em experience merely consists of a bet (providing an ante) that the two hole cards will be playable. In a fast action game provided on an electronic machine, the rapid ante (and/or initial betting) followed by rapid folding can consume much wagering resources, without allowing the player to enter the later, interesting stages of the game. Any device or method that counteracts this tendency or that increases user interest at this stage can add greater enjoyment to the game and is highly desirable.